The last couple of weeks have been rough for broad swathes of the materials sector as a result of increasing nail-biting over the Chinese economy, to say nothing of the increasingly volatile geopolitical conflict that is spilling over from the Russia-Ukraine border.

Thankfully,  Equities.com’s Small-Cap Stars Basic Materials index is here to provide investors with compelling alternatives. The following five stocks have been generating double-digit returns in 2014, and have continued to climb higher over the last week as the Chinese economy continues to show signs of significant pulling-back, and as the Eastern European situation becomes ever more dangerous and unpredictable.

Industry: Independent Oil & Gas

Market-Cap & Price: $1.47 billion / $38

Year-to-Date Performance vs. Weekly Performance: +33.33 percent / +25 percent

Industry: Independent Oil & Gas

Market-Cap & Price: $322.16 million / $7.99

Year-to-Date Performance vs. Weekly Performance: +22.36 percent / +11.90 percent

Industry: Oil & Gas Equipment & Services

Market-Cap & Price: $971.33 million / $23.63

Year-to-Date Performance vs. Weekly Performance: +49.75 percent / +1.46 percent

Industry: Silver

Subscribe to get our Daily Fix delivered to your inbox 5 days a week

Market-Cap & Price: $543.59 million / $5.45

Year-to-Date Performance vs. Weekly Performance: +50.14 percent / +0.74 percent

Industry: Nonmetallic Mineral Mining

Market-Cap & Price: $197.30 million / $12.64

Year-to-Date Performance vs. Weekly Performance: +15.33 percent / +2.27 percent

DISCLOSURE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of equities.com. Readers should not consider statements made by the author as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. To read our full disclosure, please go to: http://www.equities.com/disclaimer.